


It's you

by dancey94



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Backstory, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 09:11:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10408806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancey94/pseuds/dancey94
Summary: The rule was simple.On the twentieth birthday, a person was assigned a soulmate. The ‘other half’ might have been younger, might not even have been born yet, but once he or she were assigned to someone, the ticking of the clock would start.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KareliaSweet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KareliaSweet/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Soulmates](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9833540) by [KareliaSweet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KareliaSweet/pseuds/KareliaSweet). 



> it's my first time with soulmates just to see how it goes

The rule was simple.

On the twentieth birthday, a person was assigned a soulmate. The ‘other half’ might have been younger, might not even have been born yet, but once he or she were assigned to someone, the ticking of the clock would start.

 

Hannibal Lecter was born on January 20th in an affluent family. He was privileged to receive proper education and his every desire had to be fulfilled. One would say he was a spoilt child until a terrible accident happened and he was the only remaining Lecter left. The money he inherited allowed him to survive and not worry about his future. As the consequence of his trauma, Hannibal decided to pursue medical career as a surgeon. He hoped that he could save lives, unlike the doctors who were unable to save his family.

On his twentieth birthday, Hannibal woke up and reached to turn off the alarm clock, as usual. As a student of medicine and a part-time assistant in a lab, Lecter slept no more than five hours a day and that was on the better days. He got used to that inconvenience as well as many other, including no social life. That was partly the reason why he himself forgot about his birthday but as he stretched out his arm to reach the button in the alarm clock, he noticed some blurred numbers on his wrist. After blinking a few times, his vision became clearer; yet, he blinked one more time upon realising what he was seeing.

The numbers on his wrist were arranged in a straight line, divided into five pairs, and they were changing; at least the last two digits were, in a quite fast manner. Too fast to feel comfortable about the fact.

It was a countdown, Hannibal concluded, to the exact moment when he would meet his soulmate. That meant, it was his twentieth birthday and the universe had just assigned him the other half, whom he would meet in… 28 years 10 days 7 hours 48 minutes and 23 seconds. 22. 21. 20…

Hannibal sighed and hung his head. He wouldn’t meet his soulmate until the age of 48. Despite his previous prejudices and a strong opinion on the whole soulmate thing, he had hoped to meet his and be disproved. Well, he had been right all along. It was no use in waiting until 48 to find ‘the one’. He was an adult and could find someone else, perhaps someone the universe treated similarly unfair.

 

Will Graham was born on January 30th. He was still a toddler when his mother abandoned him and his father. For a great part of his life, Will believed that it was that particular fact from his life which made him the way he was, meaning a freak. His interests were perceived as peculiar but not unheard of. Will took up fishing after his dad taught him how to make lures, and he would help his father with fixing things, mainly boat motors, since that was what the older Graham did for a living.

They were a poor family and had to move quite often, wherever a job was waiting. Will would change schools, sometimes a few times a year, and he would always be the new one, the odd one. The fact that he did not care for friends and social acceptance made him look like an even bigger weirdo. Still, Will would come back home after lessons, change clothes and help his father. Once or twice, Will’s dad was called to school because his kid had stains of oil and dirt under his fingernails.

Soon enough, Will became independent and did everything he could to get to the university. Criminology was what interested him, among other faculties, and he decided to give it a shot. It was a time when he read a lot and exercised a lot, with very little time for sleep, since he also had to work to provide for himself.

He turned out to be one of the best on his year and, despite his particular nature, he was appreciated by the tutors and some of his colleagues. Will was the youngest one to publish a professional article and then, not long after, a standard monograph on time of death by insect activity. Whether he liked it or not, he was gaining a very specific reputation.

On his twentieth birthday, Will woke up fairly late with a smile because it was Sunday and he didn’t have to go anywhere. No school, no work, nothing. He actually never told anyone when his birthday was so that no one would bother him with the fake, in his mind, wishes.

As usual, he went to the bathroom to perform the morning routine. After taking a piss, he turned on the tap and reached for the soap. That was when he spotted something on his wrist. He scrubbed and scrubbed and finally rinsed his hands, revealing a straight line of five numbers, separated by colons. 18:00:06:13:14.

The last two digits were changing, counting down until they reached zero and then, the number on the left declined as well. It was a clock, Will realised with a gasp. He had heard the stories about soulmates and how it all worked but he never actually believed it, dismissing any concept of the future being already designed. The idea of not being able to change anything and just living your life as it had been planned was terrifying.

Will’s hands started shaking and his vision blurred a bit due to tears forming in his eyes. If he was to believe the numbers on his wrist, he had exactly eighteen years before he would meet his soulmate. That was a lot of time. A lot of cold lonely winters and hot lonely summers. Graham pursed his lips and clenched his fists. He was aware of his quirks and his difficult nature. He did not expect anyone to like him, accept him or go out with him. A solitary life had been a pleasant prospect and he wouldn’t have minded if he never had a partner. Until that unfortunate clock appeared on his wrist, that was. It made him curse the universe for making fun of him and his plans for the future.

Eighteen years. Will scoffed. He couldn’t imagine himself being almost forty and meeting someone he would wish to spend the rest of his life with for the first time in his life. That was absurd. The whole thing was a farce and probably nothing more than a myth. Yet, the numbers on his wrist kept changing, counting down to that one, possibly life-changing moment, if Will was to believe in myths.

 

Ten days after his thirtieth birthday, Hannibal was in the middle of operation when his wrist started burning. The man instinctively put down the tools he was holding and asked another doctor to take his place for a moment. He left the room and headed to the bathroom. The pain and the stinging sensation were unbearable, making Lecter feel an urge to rub the spot on his wrist.

As he took off the gloves, the clock appeared before his eyes, undisturbed. There was no major change beside the fact that there were exactly eighteen years left before the grand finale. Hannibal sighed and gaped at his wrist. So far, love hadn’t been his great motivation and it wasn’t the sole purpose of his life. What he was pursuing felt far more important and brought him more joy than, as he imagined, anything else could. Perhaps he could spend the remaining eighteen years on cherishing that thought, while enjoying life. Then, time for passion, affection and selflessness would come.

 

The morning was gloomy. It was raining. People in their cars could barely see anything through the layers of water, while people on the streets were annoyed at the umbrellas poking them from every side and their wet socks inside cheap shoes which had been advertised as amazing and protecting from exactly that kind of unpleasant situation.

Will was not surprised about the weather for two reasons: one - because he had checked the forecast the previous day, and two - because it was his birthday. January 30th could not possibly be hot and sunny. And it could not be devoid of failures, disappointments and bad news.

Fortunately, he only had one class on Friday and could head back home before lunch. According to his birthday tradition, he would have a beer, grade some papers, check his spammed mailbox and binge-watch another tv show. He could afford drinking more than one beer because the weekend was ahead. Will counted that as a plus.

The door to an apartment were almost forced out of the hinges as Hannibal ran out of the room. An incredibly good-looking man appeared right after, shouting at Lecter and using vulgar gestures. Hannibal was already too far to see and respond. Besides, responding to such primitive and foul language was beneath him.

As he pressed the button to call the elevator, he felt his wrist was burning.

Will entered the building with an exasperated sigh. The second he parked his car, the weather immediately changed and suddenly, the sun decided to make an appearance, which didn’t make up for the fact that it was cold. Nevertheless, Will was determined to stick to the plan. He approached the elevator and as he was pressing the button to call it, his wrist started burning.

Will rubbed the cuff while waiting for the lift and the enlightenment arriving with it. His eyes caught a glimpse of the digits on his wrist and widened instantly.

Will had forgotten about the damn thing. Naturally, when he first saw it, he counted the exact date to which the numbers were pointing. Out of curiosity, of course. But since then, he’d been trying to live his life, carry on and avoid making the same mistakes. Wearing long-sleeved shirts as a teacher, Will rarely looked at the clock counting down.

The elevator stopped with a loud ring.

The clock on Will’s wrist read five pairs of zeroes and then, a name appeared instead. The spot stopped burning.

Graham’s eyes shifted to the elevator’s door, which, upon opening, revealed a handsome man who was rubbing his wrist as well. Suddenly, the man’s mouth opened in shock. He read something from his wrist.

“Will.”

Will read the name from his own wrist.

“Hannibal.”

The men looked at each other in awe and spoke at the same time.

“It’s you.”


End file.
